Curses, Covens and What Curiosity Really Did to the Cat
by blueeyedjade
Summary: College is a learning experience but the Sons of Ipswich never expected to learn so much about themselves... and their curse. Rated M for future chapters. Mainly [Pogue/O.C.] [Caleb/O.C.] but the other sons and more O.C. are involved in the story later on.
1. Rebound

It had been two and a half years since the incident with Chase. They still didn't know what happened and were uneasy that he hadn't made his presence known again. It could be that he was just biding his time, recuperating and waiting for the right moment to attack. A moment when the Sons of Ipswich were vulnerable. Or maybe he had just used so much that he died. A guy could hope, right? Pogue wondered when the time would be right, if Chase was still around. It wasn't like they weren't vulnerable. After all, they were split up. They had been for over a year now. They still saw each other over the summer, but they were starting their second year of college tomorrow and they had been separated by their ever evolving lives.

Tyler was at Princeton, dating the very polite daughter of a very wealthy and influential state senator. Reid was Yale, surprisingly not using, while actually getting good grades. Of course he hadn't stopped his playboy ways, but he had cleaned up his act a bit.

Pogue and Caleb had both gone to Harvard and despite them both doing well in school, Pogue was becoming concerned about Caleb. He was acting different lately. Whenever Pogue asked, Caleb just said he was adjusting to the single life. Over the course of the summer, Sarah had broken up with Caleb. Caleb's only comment on it had been that Sarah had promised to keep their secret, because face it, who would believe her, and that they had just changed too much and were different people now.

Pogue would be the first to admit that people change and go their separate ways, after all, following the Chase incident, Kate and Pogue had grown apart. Kate knew that Pogue was somehow involved in why Chase 'left', and because she knew he was hiding something, their relationship began to fracture. After graduation when Kate moved back to New York to go to school, they tried to make the long distance thing work. But soon Kate said she was too busy for Pogue to come visit and eventually they just didn't call anymore. This summer Kate had come to Ipswich to see some old friends and Pogue had honestly intended to try and work it all out. He had even been considering telling Kate his secret. But when they sat down in the café to talk, Kate had gone first.

"Pogue, I know we never really said anything definite, but we haven't talked in forever. I really think the silence spoke for itself."

Pogue had sat staring at his phone a million times wondering if he should call her, but without just coming out and telling her he was a witch, and you couldn't do that out of the blue, what was he going to say that could fix anything. He cared about her, he really did, but things hadn't been right for a long time and he wondered if he should just break it off and let them go their separate ways.

And then Kate made that unnecessary. "Pogue, I've been seeing someone."

Despite their distance that still felt like a punch to the stomach. "Seeing someone?"

"Pogue, do you realize it's been almost six months since we spoke. It's been ten months since we've seen each other in person."

She looked at him like he was stupid and he could feel his temper rising. "So you start dating someone without saying anything?"

"Are you saying that you haven't dated?" She said it like she had already decided what his answer was going to be and that pissed him off more. Who was he now, Reid?

"No, Kate, I haven't dated. I thought that would be disrespectful since we hadn't broken things off."

She definitely looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "Yes, well, like I said, I think the silence spoke for itself." She was quiet for a few moments and when Pogue didn't say anything, she continued. "I know we had something special, Pogue, but you had to know this was coming."

He looked at her with his anger bubbling steadily. He needed to get out before he did something he would regret. "Fine, Kate. You want to be done with me, we're done." He grabbed his Bike helmet and stood up. "Go live happily ever after with this guy like what we had was nothing. Because of silence." With that Pogue stormed out, got on his Ducati and drove away.

Looking back on it he knew he had overreacted, but he just couldn't understand how she could just brush it all under a rug when even after so long of not talking, he had walked into that café and thought she was still the most amazing girl he had ever seen. He had screwed up, he got that, but after all they had been through, it was hard to discover that it didn't mean anything to her now.

And now somehow Caleb had talked Pogue into going out and hitting the club the night before classes started. Pogue didn't know why he was doing it. He hated the club scene. He liked the bars, the places that felt more like Nicky's. But Caleb said that all the girls were in the clubs. Pogue had been sceptical that the girls would be there the night before classes started, but when they got there the floor packed.

At first Pogue was too distracted to notice the girls. Instead of waiting in line to get in, Caleb had walked to the front of the line and used to get the bouncer to let them in.

"You didn't really want to wait in line, did you?" Caleb has asked when Pogue had stared at him in shock.

Caleb wasn't the one to use just to get out of things like waiting in line. They had all agreed to use as little and possible. None of them wanted to turn out like Chase. Yet here was Caleb using to get into a club.

When Pogue voiced his concern Caleb just brushed him off and headed for the bar. Pogue wasn't used to being the mature one. Caleb had always taken on the role of leader and Other than Reid getting his nose out of joint, they had always accepted it. Caleb was, after all, the oldest. He'd also been the one most determined to make sure none of them fell too easily into and addiction to the power.

He didn't want to think too much about it because there was also the possibility that Caleb was just having a little fun, which was what you were supposed to do in college. Still, he felt like he should talk to the others about it. He was staring at his phone, wondering if he should get it over with or wait until morning, when Caleb nudged him with his elbow.

"Hey, you should see the bartender. All the staff here wear masks. Despite the mask, though, she's still really hot." Caleb had to raise his voice so Pogue could hear him over the loud and fairly obnoxious music.

Masks? Pogue thought, looking around at the few waitresses he could see serving the VIP areas. Their music was bad enough but now they were a really pathetic cliché? Pogue wasn't against having a good time, despite the fact that he was still getting over the slight betrayal he felt from Kate, but all he really wanted to do at that moment was go back to his dorm.

Then Caleb nudged him again. "You've got to get over the Kate thing. She's gone. You should do yourself a favour and get over her. There's more where she came from."

Pogue gritted his teeth. More like Kate was exactly what he didn't want. Yes, he had cared for her, loved her even. She had come into Ipswich from the big city, all modern sophistication and elite-ness. She was the typical cheerleader in every cheesy chick flick. She came from a good family, had money, was intelligent, girly and had a worldly innocence about her. He had thought of her as his Upper East Side princess. And frankly he had been a little surprised that she had been interested in him. But of course as a sheltered young woman she had been drawn to his bad boy image. Clearly his image wasn't so appealing anymore.

"You know what you need?" Caleb asked, again shouting at Pogue over the music. "You need a rebound. That saying about getting over someone by getting under someone else, that should be your motto. After all, even before Kate, you never had trouble with the ladies."

Great, exactly what he needed; more chick drama.

"You need that!" Caleb said, pointing over Pogue's shoulder.

"Caleb," Pogue began as he slowly turned around in the crowded room. "I don't need an…"

As his eyes followed Caleb's finger, Pogue's words failed and he was left, mouth open, staring at the dancer's platform in the middle of the dance floor. He knew she was staff because she was wearing a mask. And somewhere in the back of his mind Pogue knew this must have been the 'bartender' Caleb had mentioned. She was hot, but she certainly wasn't bartending. The last song faded out as the next came in and Pogue was surprised to hear a song he had heard before. It was "You shook me all night long" by AC/DC. It had been completely redone to suit the club scene and Pogue silently mourned for the original and the hack-job they had done on it.

His foremost attention, however, was on the girl in front of him, dressed in what he could only assume was some kind of uniform designed to cover only the most important parts while tantalizing young men with the rest in hopes of them spending more money. Had Pogue been more intoxicated or less intelligent, he might have handed his whole inheritance to that girl. The way she moved her body to the music, blatantly sexual yet she looked like she wasn't thinking about her audience at all, but just feeling the music and moving… and that made it even sexier.

In the back of his mind, Pogue heard Caleb laugh and felt his presence leave, but Pogue was transfixed. People were dancing all around him, bumping into him. In any other circumstance that would piss him off but, as he watched the girl, time passed and life went on without him. At some point in the song, she opened her eyes and as her gaze travelled over the crowd around her, it locked with his own. It was too dark to tell her reaction and her facial expression was hidden by the mask, but her eyes didn't leave his for the rest of the song.

And when the song faded into the next, one he didn't recognize but had a heavy bass that beat in rhythm with his heart, she didn't break their eye contact. She held his gaze as she got down from her platform and made her way to him through the crowd.

His mind searched for something, anything to say when she made it to him. But to his surprise, she didn't stop to stand in front of him, but kept walking until she was but inches away and pulled his head down for a kiss. A kiss that immediately included tongues and her fingers running through his hair.

Pogue was just accepting that Caleb might be right and a roll in the sheets was exactly what he might need, just as his hands began travelling over her back and pulling her closer, she pulled away. Not far, but far enough that as her hands rested on his shoulders, she was standing the length of her arms away from him.

"Damn," she said, smiling like the cat who ate the canary, as his mother used to say. "I always wondered what that felt like." And then she was gone, disappeared into the crowd. He tried to find her and even went back to the bar and asked about her, but nobody knew who he was talking about. That or they just refused to help him. Maybe it was part of their 'bartender code', he mused, annoyed at not being able to find her.

* * *

_*Meanwhile, in the change room…_

"It's packed tonight." Aria said to herself, folding her uniform and sitting it in her locker with her mask and wig. Most of the other girls didn't have to wear wigs, but part of the deal was that any defining characteristics had to be covered. Some days Aria felt like she was working in a strip club. They had skimpy outfits, masks, stage names and the more men they brought in, the more they got paid. And the more they got paid, the less Aria had to worry about dropping out of school.

Despite the feeling of similarities, Aria's job had a lot of perks. She had flexible hours, she had great business connections and once a week she got to perform at the club. Music was what Aria lived for. She had been singing since she could string words together and being able to do it in a place as hip at 'Sinsations' wasn't something she would pass up for anything. Except maybe her best friend.

Branwen came through the door and went over to her locker. To most people that wouldn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. But to Aria, Branwen coming in and not saying anything was suspicious as hell. "What's up?" Aria asked.

Branwen looked over at Aria with a flawless look of innocent confusion. She had the infuriating ability to hold a straight face no matter what was going on inside her head. But she had other tells, like tapping her foot. Aria looked at the moving extremity and then back to Branwen's face.

Slowly Branwen smiled, taking out the contacts that hid her very distinguishable eyes. When she put them in their holder in her locker, she turned back to Aria. Despite her smile, her tone was serious. "So I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but you'll never guess who's out there right now."

Aria narrowed her eyes, thinking. There were several people who Branwen might be amused at the presence of but none that she could think of whose presence could be good or bad. "Who?"

Branwen opened her mouth to reply when Gina stuck her head in the change room. "Sorry to interrupt, guys, but, Siren, there's a guy asking for you at the bar. We didn't tell him anything, I just wanted to let you know."

"Thanks, Sass, but I know who it is. Thanks for covering. He's harmless but I'm not interested." Branwen smiled at Gina before she left and then turned back to Aria.

"Is this guy the who?" Aria asked.

Branwen nodded before leaning forward. "Pogue Parry."

Aria had to think about the familiar name for a while before it clicked. "Ipswich Pogue Parry?" Again Branwen nodded. "Why is he asking for you? Did he recognize you?"

Branwen laughed. "Of course he didn't recognize me. He probably doesn't know I exist. I was a year behind them in school. It wasn't like I was allowed to hang out with them."

"Well he knows you exist now, apparently. Why is that?"

Aria knew before Branwen even spoke. It was Branwen, after all. "I made out with him about ten minutes ago."

Aria sighed. "Of course you did."

* * *

**_AN: I've been thinking about the covenant lately, I watched the movie a few days ago, and really wanted to write a story about what I always thought might happen next. I'm kind of letting the story lead me so I hope you'll let me know if you think it's leading me in a good direction. This story is dedicated to my best friend. We often make up stories together and our covenant stories have always been out favourite. So here's to you Steph!_**


	2. Stalker

_**AN: Hi guys. I try to update weekly but seeing as Christmas is coming up I'm not sure if I'll have new chapters ready. My family is large and live far from each other so I travel a lot over the holidays. I try to keep at least one on here and just in need of editing so that I can update no matter where I am but I make so guarantees. I hop you'll read, review and enjoy.**_

* * *

As Aria and Branwen got in their cab, Aria looked over at Branwen expectantly. "Well?" She said after Branwen gave the driver their address.

"Well what?" Branwen said, purposely avoiding her friend's question.

"Well, what possessed you to make out with a guy you barely know, not that I'm surprised."

Branwen rolled her eyes. So she was a little free with her admiration… she didn't go around sleeping with every guy she made out with. She was a tease, not a whore. She smiled inwardly before turning to her friend. "Thanks for your obvious contempt of my character. It was just a kiss. You have no idea what it was like spending a year in Ipswich with them. Everyone treated them like gods. And not because they knew about the powers, the five families thing was just an amusing tale that everyone whispered about. No, the 'Sons' were idolized because of their wealth, their looks and their athletic abilities."

"So," Aria said, "That happens at every school. Is it because it was a challenge for you? I mean they are idolized yet they are outcasts in the witch world; barely better than criminals."

"God, you sound like my mother." Branwen groaned as they arrived home, paid the driver and climbed out of the cab. She didn't miss the confused look on the drivers face. She didn't imagine most people sat in the cab talking about witches.

Aria sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. After it's been drilled into your head for so long it's hard to get it out."

"Yeah, well, just because their ancestors almost got us all killed doesn't mean that the Sons should have to be punished for it."

Aria looked at Branwen sadly as Branwen unlocked their door. "Branwen, I understand your position on the topic, but there's nothing we can do about it. We can't change it ourselves and we were only allowed to leave on the condition that we don't try and mess with their laws."

"Yeah well why were we so stupid as to agree to that?" Branwen asked, holding the door open for her best friend. She understood that they had only been allowed to walk away from their coven with the promise that they wouldn't work against the coven, but it didn't sit right, letting them go around, handing out justice as they saw fit. Branwen would fully admit that she was bitter about actions the coven had taken, but that didn't mean she didn't have a point. He had been her father, after all.

Flipping on the light in the front hall, Branwen hung her coat on the hook by the front door and made her way up the stairs to the main level. She looked around at the mess she and Aria had made when they were rushing to work earlier and made the decision that it could wait until after class tomorrow.

"I'm not trying to rain on your fun," Aria said, "I just worry about you sometimes. You can be a little reckless."

Branwen looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I thought that's why you loved me so much."

Aria laughed. "It does make life interesting." She agreed. "I just don't want you hurting more than you already are and from what you told me about these boys, they have a habit of causing drama wherever they go."

Aria's concern made Branwen's throat dry with emotion she wasn't comfortable with. She was hurting, but she would never admit it. She would not show weakness they would exploit. Because she knew no matter their agreement and how far she and Aria got away from them, the coven would always be watching.

"It's not really a big deal." Branwen said, shoving her emotions back into their little box and locking them up tight. "It's not like I'll ever see him again."

Aria nodded and smiled. "Unless he keeps coming in looking for you." They both laughed and headed to their rooms.

A week later Branwen was cursing Aria and her words. Branwen was on day shifts for most of the week because she had early morning and late evening classes. That would switch later in the semester when she finished her honours classes. But for now it had her on the opening shift where she didn't make as much money but got some time to work on schoolwork in the back while it was slow.

At the end of her shift each day, when the night shift came in, Gina informed Branwen that the man was back every night looking for her.

"God, he's like a dog with a bone." Branwen said, shaking her head as she changed into her street clothes.

"It's not like you can blame him." Gina replied. "I don't know how you do it but something about your dancing is hypnotic. If I was into girls I would totally follow you around."

They both laughed. "Yeah, but you don't see any other guys following me. I don't understand why he can't just let it be."

Gina shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe it was love at first sight."

"More like lust."

"Well he's not unattractive. Maybe you should give him a shot."

Branwen looked up at Gina. "It's against the rules to date customers."

"Only the VIPs."

"Still, who wants to hook up with someone who's basically stalking them?" Branwen played it off, not able to explain her history with Pogue. "It's just not going to happen."

"Your call." Gina said. "But if he comes back again and I can convince him to take me home, you're not allowed to be jealous."

Branwen smiled. "As long as you don't tell him how to find me he is all yours."

* * *

Caleb looked up from the couch as Pogue walked through the sitting area, heading for the door. "Where are you going?" Caleb asked, already having a pretty good idea.

"Out."

Caleb couldn't help but smile. "Going to the club again?"

Pogue paused at the door and looked over his shoulder.

Caleb took one look at the dark look on Pogue's face and held up his hands. "I'm not complaining. It's better than you sitting around here brooding. I'm just wondering why you're so determined. I mean, I had to drag you there last week and now you're there every night looking for some girl you kissed once. I'm glad you're getting over the Kate thing but don't you think you're coming on a little strong?"

A slammed door was Pogue's only response. Caleb should have known better. Caleb and Pogue were closer than the other brothers, which is how Caleb knew that Pogue wasn't big on expressing himself. He also didn't do well with frustration and feeling unbalanced. After leaving Pogue that night at the club Caleb had headed to the back of the room where he had observed the VIP section.

Caleb had become somewhat of a stalker himself. He had heard that Jared Keller liked to hang out in the VIP section. Jared was kind of a tool. He was pretentious, ignorant and lacked intelligence. How he had managed to make the Dean's preferred student list, Caleb didn't know. And he didn't really care. What he did care about was that Sarah wasn't taking his calls anymore.

When she had broken up with him over the summer, he had been upset but figured that once they were back at school he could try and get her back. After she had time to cool down. But he had been getting her voicemail for two weeks. He'd tried to figure out where she was staying but Harvard wasn't as easy to break into as Spencer had been. When that idea had fallen through, Caleb had moved on to her circle of friends. However most of them wouldn't talk to him either.

His last chance was finding Jared. Sarah and he had hung out together sometimes and Caleb knew Jared had been interested in her. With any luck Caleb could find a way to use that in his favour. So far, though, Caleb hadn't been able to find the tool.

Of course he could use to find her, but that would be irresponsible and despite what she had said this summer, he was not becoming addicted to his powers. Hell, he was the one who had always used his powers the least. He doubted a little here and there was going to affect him. No, he had built up a resistance.

Waving off the absurdity of the accusation, Caleb looked back down at his textbook. He had a paper due tomorrow and he had been putting it off. It wasn't like it would take that long. Though, Caleb thought, he could be at Sinsations looking for Jared right now.

Without another thought, Caleb used, the paper completing itself and grabbed his keys before heading out the door.

* * *

Pogue had been in the club for an hour already and he still hadn't spotted her. The night before he had gone straight to the bar and asked about her but he could tell the bartenders were getting annoyed with him. He was getting annoyed with him. He didn't understand why he couldn't let this girl go. It wasn't like he hadn't made out with random girls before. Like Caleb had said, he'd always been good with the ladies.

It's just that the girl who had kissed him had been so mysterious. There had been something about her that had held him captive. When she had kissed him and ran her fingers through his hair it had felt like a tingling everywhere her body had touched his. Pogue had kissed a lot of girls and not any had done that before.

He was also curious. He had been so stunned when she had kissed him that he hadn't been paying much attention to what she said. Once he had gotten home and sorted out what her words had been he had been even more intrigued. It was almost as if she knew him. At least that's what her words implied. At first he had thought maybe she had been talking about dancing on the platform, but it couldn't have been the first time she had done that. She was too good at it. And if she had been talking about kissing a stranger then why him. Either way, his interaction with her left far too much to the imagination, something her uniform had not.

Fed up with his lack of results, Pogue walked over to the bar. The girl behind it smiled at him, knowing exactly who he was. The girls here didn't look the same but they were purposely dressed to look similar. However, Pogue had been at the club enough lately to tell some of them apart. This one's name, at least for the bar, he assumed, was Sass. Her smile was sympathetic but firm as she got him a beer.

"I know what you're going to ask." She said. "And I'm going to give you the same answer."

He had figured as much. He was becoming more convinced there was a bartenders code.

"I am, however, going to ask you a question." She leaned forward on the bar, looking him straight in the eyes. "What is it about this girl that has you stalking her?"

Stalking? He wasn't stalking. Stalking would imply he had found her and was following her. "I need to talk to her."

Sass nodded. "Did she knock you up and now you're looking for child support?"

For a second Pogue thought she was insane but then the corner of her mouth started curving and he realized she was messing with him. "Actually we eloped and I'm looking to serve her divorce papers."

Sass scoffed and shook her head. "You kids these days just don't take commitment seriously. None of you are willing to put the work in."

That joke hit a little too close to his issues with Kate. He took a long pull of his beer and glanced out into the crowd. There was another girl on the platform dancing but Pogue knew even from where he sat that it wasn't the same girl. Sighing he turned back to Sass. "So is it like the first rule of bartenders code to dodge men for each other?"

Surprisingly Sass looked at him seriously. "In case you hadn't noticed, most of the employees here are women. We work in a club where we make good money, but we do it by showing off a great deal of skin and strutting around to get attention. If it were your sister working here, would you want us giving out all her information to every guy who came to the bar asking for her?"

No. But then he wasn't sure he would ever let a sister of his work in a place like this. After a couple minutes Sass went back to serving customers and Pogue left his half full beer on the bar. Once outside he took a deep breath before turning and walking towards the parking lot he'd left his bike in. He was rounding the corner when a girl rushing in the opposite direction ran into him.

He grabbed her to stop her from falling over and got a Taser to the stomach for his efforts. "Get your hands off me you creep!"

Using had been an instant reaction to the pain and her Taser sputtered to a quick death. She stepped back and smacked it against her hand a couple times but that thing wasn't making a recovery. When she realized this she slowly looked up and began backing away.

Before she could bolt, Pogue bent down and picked up her bag, holding it out to her. She looked at him and her expression said something along the lines of, "Like I'm falling for that bait".

"Look, I'm sorry I grabbed you, I was just trying to make sure you didn't fall over. I wasn't paying attention when I was coming around the corner." He looked over at the parking lot across the street where his bike was sitting. He motioned over to it. "I'm just heading home. Am I allowed to walk around you or are you going to pull pepper spray out at me if I move?" She could be hiding it anywhere on her person. She was wearing tight jeans but she had knee-high boots with an open top and a big roomy sweater so there were enough hiding places.

She slowly looked over her shoulder before quickly glancing back like she was afraid he was going to lunge at her. "The bike is yours?" she asked, grabbing her purse out of his hand before he could even flinch.

"Yeah. It's a Ducati."

She rolled her eyes and put her Taser back in her purse, but as she pulled her hand back out, her sleeve got stuck and something fell out to the ground. Pogue's eyes followed it to the ground before he realized what it was. A mask.

"You work at Sinsations?" He asked, suddenly hopeful. He knew she wasn't the one he was looking for because she was taller, but not wearing heals. Still, she might be able to help him.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she picked up the mask. "What's it to you?" When she put the mask back in her purse, her hand remained and he had no doubt now that she was holding another deterrent.

"I'm looking for someone I met there, a dancer. I really need to talk to her. She's a bit shorter than you, has black hair, and dark eyes."

The girl in front of him immediately started squirming. "Listen, I don't know who you're talking about, and even if I did, I wouldn't be handing out someone's information."

Yeah, he got that. She went to walk around him but he reached out and grabbed her arm. She spun around, can of pepper spray held up at the ready. Pogue jumped back, hands up. "I'm sorry. I just really need to find her." He was starting to become worried about his own sanity in the quest to find this girl.

She looked at him before sighing and putting the pepper spray away. "Look, I don't know why you want to find her so badly, but you really need to let it go. She doesn't want to see you."

Pogue couldn't help but feel a little slapped. "And how would you know?"

She frowned. "I just know, okay." She turned to walk away but then stopped and turned back around. When she looked at him there was and expression on her face that he didn't understand. It was somewhere between sympathy and disdain. "I'm not saying you're not a good guy, because I don't know you, but you're not what she needs in her life. She has enough to deal with."

Pogue watched her walk down the street and into the alley beside the club, clearly going to the staff entrance. As he continued over to his Ducati, he couldn't help going over her words. Despite saying she didn't know him, there was a tone to her voice that gave the impression she felt she knew enough about him to judge him. And the tone in her voice when she spoke about his mystery girl was something to take note of. It was warm and concerned.

They were friends. Pogue would even go so far as to say that they were close friends. Close enough that this girl knew that his mystery girl had a lot on her plate. He threw his leg over his bike and paused. Maybe the two girls were good enough friends that one could lead him to the other.

A few hours later, Pogue sat outside a condo complex and watched the second floor window as two girls sat and talked. And he knew, even from a distance that he had found her.

* * *

The moon was full that night and lit up the scene almost as well as a spotlight would have. There was only one shaded spot, under the cover of a large old elm tree. Neither the girls in the house or the boy on the bike saw the shadow that stood there, watching… and reporting.


	3. Poof, Like Smoke

_**AN: Merry Christmas Eve my FanFic Friends! I hope you enjoy your holidays and this chapter. Please Review.**_

* * *

Pogue had sat outside that condo for more nights than could be rationalized as healthy. A couple times he had seen her coming and going, but for how long he had spent looking for her, he didn't feel ready to approach her. Her friend had said his girl had a lot going on and he didn't want to be more on her mind.

So he kept his distance. But keeping his distance also meant he couldn't see much of her. He knew that her black hair, unlike her red-headed roommate, was natural, or at least not just for work. He also knew that when she wasn't bartending she dressed warmly, not revealing in the least. He wondered if she was compensating for work.

Work that she didn't seem to be at anymore. Not once since he found her had she gone to work with her friend. She got home around ten and stayed. He wondered if his pursuit of her had caused her to quit. The pressure that might put on someone was hardly something he wanted to cause. So after a long night of sitting outside her condo, Pogue decided he had to let his unhealthy interest in her go. Sure she was a mystery, but not all mysteries were meant to be solved. At least that's what he told himself every day for the next two months.

Instead he channeled his restlessness into watching Caleb. Once Pogue had stopped sneaking out every night he had realized that Caleb was. Having honed his stalking skills, Pogue had followed Caleb on multiple occasions. But Caleb didn't always go to the same place and he didn't seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary for a college student. Unless you counted using.

It only took two nights before Pogue called Tyler.

"_What do you mean he's using?_" Tyler asked.

"Like for anything. I've said stuff to him when he's done little things in front of me but he just brushes me off. But now he's using all the time, for every little thing."

"_You mean this has been going on and you didn't tell us?_" Tyler sounded offended and Pogue felt bad for not calling as soon as he suspected something.

"I didn't know it was this bad and I didn't want to offend him by making a big deal out of something that wasn't."

Tyler sighed and Pogue could picture the youngest of their group running his fingers through his hair. Pogue had done the same thing when thinking about the trouble Caleb was getting himself into. "_This is a really bad time for this to come up. I mean, we would drop everything and be there for Caleb. I just wish he could self-destruct after semester finals_."

Pogue tried not to be pissed off at Tyler caring more about finals than Caleb, because he knew that wasn't the case, Tyler had always been dedicated to his schoolwork. Tyler was the only one whose father was still alive and despite the gift that was, it also meant that Tyler had a father at home, riding him about his grades and his chances of early entry into medical school. Not to mention that if Pogue had said something when he first suspected it they could have dealt with it by now.

"_Maybe we should find a way to all feel him out at Thanksgiving. We'll all be home then_."

It was true, and it wasn't that far away. "Fine. I guess that's our best option right now. I'll try to keep an eye on him until then."

So when Pogue wasn't attending his own classes he was trying to subtly follow Caleb. After about a week, Pogue was getting the feeling that Caleb knew. He was eluding Pogue more frequently. One day Pogue was trying to trail Caleb through a busy hallway when he rounded a corner into a classroom and Caleb was nowhere to be seen. He was gone. Poof, like smoke.

Pogue looked back out into the hall but before he could leave the room he heard his name.

"Ah, Mr. Parry."

Pogue pulled his head back in the door and looked over to the front desk where the only two other people in the room were standing. One was Professor Lewis, who taught Pogue's Criminal Justice class. The other seemed to be a young girl who was facing away from him. Reluctant to end his search for Caleb, Pogue slowly came into the room as his professor beckoned.

"Mr. Parry, I read over your essay and I enjoyed your somewhat rebellious viewpoints." Professor Lewis said. Despite teaching Criminal Justice, Professor Lewis seemed to enjoy that Pogue had an attitude about life that had him walking the fence-line when it came to the law. Pogue didn't know if that worked in his favor or not but he wasn't going to complain as long as he was getting good grades.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it sir." Pogue said, making it to the desk and looking down at the girl the Professor had been talking to. She looked familiar but Pogue couldn't put his finger on what it was about her.

Noticing his gaze, Professor Lewis laughed. "Forgive my bad manners. Mr. Parry, this is Miss Argall."

She slowly turned to look at Pogue and he was struck again by the feeling of knowing her from somewhere. But had he met her before, there was no way he wouldn't remember those eyes. They were a blue so light they bordered on being more gray and white than blue. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Parry." She said in a voice that he only half heard.

Snapping himself out of whatever trance her eyes had put him in, Pogue nodded. "Yeah, you too." He looked at his professor and back to the girl. "Are you enjoying criminal justice?"

She smiled and looked at Professor Lewis. His Professor laughed. "Criminal Justice is not the only class I teach, Mr. Parry. Miss Argall is one of the applicants for the honors degree in the Philosophy department. She's trying to do the impossible and condense over a decade of education into a few years."

She smiled at the professor. "Impossible is but a theory." She said, and this time her voice caught his attention.

"Yes well I will be the first to say that if anyone can pull it off, it will be you. You've already surpassed what most could do."

"Thank you, Professor Lewis. And thank you for your support. I'm much more confident walking into that meeting today after having spoken with you."

The professor smiled and bowed his head. "I would wish you luck but I doubt you need it."

"I'll take it anyway." She turned to Pogue and held out her hand. "See you around, Mr. Parry."

He looked down at her gloved hand and glanced over her outfit. She looked like a stuffy librarian in a full suit and dress-coat. It hid the natural beauty that he was certain was under there somewhere. You couldn't have eyes like that and not have a body to match.

Picking up her bag she left the room and Pogue still wasn't quite sure where he knew her from. But that voice…

"She's an interesting specimen, that one." Professor Lewis said as he gathered up his papers. At first Pogue thought Professor Lewis had read more in Pogue's glance than was there, at least that he thought was there, but the Professor continued. "I've never met anyone so determined to do everything in their power to succeed. When I first met her I wasn't sure if it was the challenge that drove her or blind ambition."

"And now?" Pogue asked.

The professor laughed. "Well, I'm still not sure why she's so determined, but she has a dedication and passion for it that makes me tired for her. She's accomplished more in the six months I've known her than some of the students I've had in my classes for four years."

Six months? "Classes only started three months ago, did you meet her before?"

"Well I'd spoken with her both via phone and email about two years ago but I met her in person back at the end of April. She wanted to meet me and discuss her coarse load."

"At the end of April? She took summer courses?"

The professor leaned on the desk and looked at Pogue seriously. "Miss Argall took her GED when she was fourteen. She completed and almost perfect S.A.T. score when she was fifteen and has been fighting to get accepted into Harvard ever since. They were granted the opportunity to complete pre-qualification classes and have been exceeding everyone's expectations ever since. This will be their first year attending classes in the school environment but even here they seem to be surpassing what's expected."

"They?"

"Miss Argall and her cousin, Miss Belmonte. They are both here this year, though Miss Belmonte is reaching for a Doctor in Education, instead of Philosophy."

So they were like geniuses. Pogue nodded and went to leave.

"Mr. Parry?" Pogue turned to face his Professor. "Next time you see Mr. Danvers, can you please let him know that I need to speak with him about his essay."

That didn't sound good at all. Still, he nodded at Professor Lewis before leaving.

* * *

The moment she had heard his name Branwen had felt like the walls were closing in on her. The last thing she needed before her meeting with the Honors Board was a run in the Pogue Parry. Her body hadn't forgotten him and the tingling feelings he'd caused. Branwen didn't know how he had caused them but they had haunted her every night since. She'd even gone out on a date to try and distract herself but that had just been a mess.

Thankfully she hadn't seen him anywhere but in her dreams since that first night at the club. The last place she had expected to see him was at school. She had looked into his schedule to make sure they wouldn't meet up. She had no idea what he had been doing, but the moment she knew he was near her body had reacted.

Professor Lewis hadn't noticed, at least. And by the time either of them looked at her she had composed herself. When she'd had to face him her heart had raced again, but other than a slight narrowing of his eyes, Pogue gave no impression that he remembered her. Thank god for small miracles. And that she had been wearing gloves to protect her fingers from the cold weather. She had realized that the tingling sensation that night had only happened where their skin touched. She didn't know about Pogue, but that only happened to her when she touched him, so if it was the same for both of them, it would have been a dead giveaway.

When she finally managed to escape the room, she had been relieved that not only had he not caught on to who she was, but the stress of hiding her identity had made her upcoming meeting with the Honor Board feel like a walk in the park. When she came out of said meeting she actually felt relaxed. She had pictured Pogue Parry relieving her stress before, but never like that.

Not that he would ever know that.

She knew now more than ever that she had to stay away from Pogue Parry. Not just because she was within reach of her Doctor in Philosophy but she could sense the coven. That meant someone was watching them. She didn't know how closely but she knew that the Sons were off limits. Even conversing with them could get her in more trouble than she could risk.

Shaking her head, she vowed to push away all thoughts of Pogue Parry, at least the ones she could control while conscious. She needed to focus on her future. Her thesis was almost complete. By the end of the semester she would be doing her oral exam. It would take her maybe two years to finish her Doctorate and then she could get away from the coven. She and Aria could disappear. If they hadn't been so determined to finish what they had started to long ago with their educations they would have disappeared already. Poof, like smoke. No sign of them but a shadow on a breeze.

When Branwen got home she rushed up to Aria's bedroom. It was Aria's night off so Branwen knew Aria would be in her room studying. As Branwen burst in, Aria held up and finger as she typed on her computer. Branwen smiled and walked around the room while Aria finished her thought process.

Aria had done her room in reds, whites, blacks and silvers. Branwen liked to tease Aria, saying it looked like someone had fought with a demon. Probably one requiring silver bullets. Aria just rolled her eyes at Branwen's imagery.

"Okay, so how'd it go?" Aria asked, sitting up on her four-poster bed.

Branwen smiled. "Really well. I don't think it'll be long now."

"That's awesome. With any luck we'll be out of here in a couple years."

Branwen nodded, not surprised Aria jumped to their departure as well. They had both been smothered in the life of the coven, with its laws and idiosyncrasies. The coven liked to believe it was preserving its freedom by constantly enforcing rules that had nothing to do with what the coven was really supposed to represent and everything to do with the agenda of the head council. Branwen didn't understand why more people didn't walk away.

When Branwen and Aria had announced they were leaving there had almost been a riot. Only six people had left the coven before. Only one wasn't confirmed dead. You didn't leave your coven; they were your protection. At least until they became the thing you felt threatened by.

When it came down to it, the others hadn't been so surprised. After all, Aria's aunt had left the coven. She'd almost made it ten years before the coven got word of her death. She had been killed in a fire. It had caused a panic in the coven. Fire always had them running around like chickens with their heads cut off. It was probably one of the reasons the Sons of Ipswich were so villainized. Because of their ancestors witches had burned. Their arrogance in the belief that they could use their powers to punish those who came after them had been not only their downfall, but the persecution of many who hadn't made the choice for themselves.

When it came to Branwen leaving, there had been a lot of gossiping. After all, both Branwen's grandmother and her father had left the coven. Her father had left but came back a year later saying that someone was after the Sons of Ipswich and they needed to help. The suggestion of helping their enemy had led to his incarceration. His escape, disobedience and attempt to use the coven's resources to carry out his 'blasphemous' plan to assist the Sons had led to his death.

Branwen had managed to get a few moments with her father before his sentence was carried out. She'd wanted to blame the Sons for his situation, but he'd pleaded with her to understand that the Sons weren't responsible for his suffering but rather the coven was responsible for theirs. It hadn't taken long after her father's death to decide to leave the coven, and when she said she was going to leave, Aria said she was going too. They had told Aria's parents first. Aria's father, not being magical, had never had the same kind of loyalty to the coven that the witches did and was proud of his daughter for wanting to follow her own path. Aria's mother, though skeptical, understood and agreed that the coven was becoming single minded. They had supported Aria and Branwen, who had always been like a daughter to them.

Branwen's mother was a different story, after all, she was second in charge on the head council. That fact had made the sentencing of her father so much worse. Branwen had never been close with her mother, so when her mother hadn't said anything beyond the speech about the coven being the only thing that should matter to a witch, Branwen hadn't been surprised. After all, the woman had sentenced the father of her child and the supposed love of her life to death because he wanted to help someone.

Branwen was determined to get out. And when she got out, she would look for her grandmother; the only unaccounted for witch to leave the coven.

That night Branwen tossed and turned in her sleep, and not in the pleasant way. There were no dreams of Pogue, no hot fantasies about running her hands all over his body. No passionate love-making. There was heat of another kind. Branwen dreamed that she had been sentenced to death, like her father had, for leaving the coven. When she died, she went to hell. In her dream, hell was a party filled with crowds of drunk co-eds mingling with notorious villains from history. She searched for a way out but the walls were crawling with flames and every time she tried to get past them she would get burnt and everyone would laugh at her.

Slowly Branwen came to realized the fiery hell party was in her and Aria's condo. She ran up the stairs to Aria's room, looking for her best friend and praying she wasn't there. Before Branwen made it to the bedroom door she was grabbed from behind. She kicked and swung her arms but the person holding her let her fight until she calmed down. When they turned her around Branwen saw that it was Pogue.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him. "You shouldn't be in hell. It's not your fault your ancestors were pretentious ass-hats." Despite the humor in her words, her voice revealed her panic.

"Branwen, listen to me!" he shouted at her. "You need to get out."

"What the hell to do you think I've been trying to do?" She asked him suddenly annoyed that he was here but no help at all.

He shook his head. "No, babe, you need to wake up. You have to get out of here. The house is on fire. You need to wake up and you need to get out."

She went to argue with him about how hell would always be on fire and she couldn't find a way out but as soon as she went to speak he slapped her and she sat up in bed.

She gasped for breath and then coughed as smoke filled her lungs. She squinted through the dark room as she made her way to the light switch. She flicked it but it didn't work. Feeling the door with the back of her hand and feeling warmth but not burning, she reached around on her vanity chair for her robe and put it over her face.

When she opened her door more smoke flooded past her and she could see the distinct orange glow of fire lighting the stairwell. She made her way to the top of the stairs and could see flames licking the walls in the dining room below. Trying not to panic, Branwen rushed to Aria's door and felt it before thanking god it was cool and making her way inside.

Aria's light didn't work either so Branwen closed her eyes and navigated from memory, thanking whatever thought process had made Aria pick up the things that usually littered her floor. When she made it to the bed, Branwen patted her hands around until she found Aria's sleeping form face down in the middle of the bed. It would have alarmed her if Aria hadn't slept like that since they were kids. Shaking her friend while trying to keep the robe over her face, Branwen called out Aria's name. It seemed like ages before Aria groaned and rolled over.

"What the hell, Branwen?"

Hell was exactly what it was. Aria went to sigh but coughed and Branwen put part of her robe over Aria's face. "The condo's on fire. It's already to the bottom of the stairs. We need to get out." Pogue's words and the concern on his face flashed through Branwen's mind but she pushed it away and pulled Aria out of bed.

Aria got up as sleepiness faded and understanding dawned. "Where the hell are the fire alarms?" She asked.

"Can you please stop using the H-word. None of the lights are working. I don't know what happened to the fire alarms but I'd hazard a guess the batteries didn't all fail at once by coincidence."

Aria stopped on their way to the bedroom door. If they could get to Branwen's bathroom they could climb out the window to the roof of the second floor balcony and onto the front porch from there.

"Are you suggesting someone set this fire?" Aria asked.

Branwen looked at her. "You think that this fire started itself?"

"No but all sorts of things start fires. Candles, stoves, bad wiring…"

"We don't keep candles in the house, we ordered pizza last night for dinner and the power's out."

"But,"

"Aria, now is really not the time." Branwen didn't mean to snap at Aria but she couldn't make time for the shock to wear off.

Together they made their way through Branwen's bedroom and over to her bathroom. Climbing over the tub, they managed to get the window opened and lowered themselves onto the roof. They were standing outside the railing of the second floor balcony when the buildup from the fire became too much for the windows, shattering them and blowing burning hot air and glass out at the girls. It was by pure luck that they managed to grab each others' hand. There was a faint glow to their eyes before they were suddenly transported from their fall towards the pavement to the soft grass across the street.

Taking deep breaths of clean air, they watched their condo go up in smoke. Poof.


	4. No Thanks-Giving Me A Headache

**_AN: Hey guys. I don't know about you but it's been a busy month for me. I tried to upload earlier but the site wouldn't let me. I'm still not home yet but I had this chapter ready and wanted to get something up for all of you. I hope you enjoy it._**

* * *

The following days had been rough on Aria and Branwen. As more information came in about the fire and the investigators were leaning towards arson, Aria became certain it had been a reckless warning. Whoever had done it, and by whoever she meant whatever coven member, because who else would attempt such a blatant threat, they had intended to scare but hadn't cared whether the subjects were harmed or even killed in the process. And the idea that their lives were expendable to the people who had been considered family for so long was painful.

That was what Aria had been dwelling on. Branwen seemed to be under a gray cloud of her own. And Aria knew the basics of the problem. Of course Branwen was worried about the coven's decision to give up on tempting the girls back and move to blatantly threatening, but Branwen's mind wasn't occupied by that alone. Instead of the purpose of the fire, Branwen was stumped by how they'd gotten out.

Branwen had told Aria about her dream. The dream in which Branwen had been sent to hell and felt judged. That wasn't surprising. The coven was famous for giving people dreams to scare them into submission. The question was how had Pogue known about the fire and how had he known how to project himself into Branwen's dream? That was Branwen's current obsession.

They were lucky Thanksgiving was approaching and they would have time to sort things out before classed resumed. Not to mention find a way to recover their schoolwork. Their computers, external hard-drives and physical records had gone up in flames. Branwen was fairly confident that everything had been saved to their online filing system but they had been too distracted by the stress of almost dying to get to checking.

"I'm going out." Branwen said, pulling Aria out of her thoughts and back into the apartment above the club they were staying in for the time being. It was rent free, so there was that. Their boss had been happy to help out rather than lose his 'best two employees'. But it also meant they were further from campus, had to pay for parking and had to go through the club to get to their apartment. Because of the last one they tried to limit the times they left.

Which made it suspicious that Branwen was leaving now. They'd already been out twice today. "Did we forget to pick something up?" It was very possible. They were trying to get everything they would need to live before they could complete the insurance forms. They were lucky they kept a few of their personal items and changes of clothes in their cars. They were lucky they kept all their really important stuff like paperwork and passports in a safe. It had been recovered from the debris and returned to them. The first day after the fire had been spent using what was in there to apply for things like drivers licenses and the like. Rebuilding your life after a fire was almost as hard as rebuilding your life after leaving the coven.

"No, there's just something I need to do."

"Right now? Today?" The whole area would be swamped with people leaving school and heading home for Thanksgiving.

Branwen just stood there for a moment before nodding and leaving. Aria felt bad for her friend. Aria could be certain that her parents would be terrified if they knew what had happened and Aria felt bad for having to tell them over the phone tomorrow. Branwen had the burden of not knowing whether or not her own mother had been the one to have them burned in their own house. There had been days throughout their childhood that Branwen had been jealous of Aria's family being so affectionate. Aria had sometimes taken that for granted. Some days Aria had been jealous Branwen was a direct descendant of the leader of the original coven. Today was not one of those days.

* * *

The fifteen minute drive from the club to campus took forty-five minutes and Branwen worried that she had second guessed herself for too long. She looked around at the people hurrying to get home as she pulled her Mini Cooper SS into one of the vacant spaces in the parking lot. There were students with bags and suitcases everywhere and Branwen had to duck around people often to make sure she didn't get beamed with luggage.

She had to climb three flights of stairs and leap over one struggling freshman before she found the door she was looking for. Looking at it she wondered if anyone would answer it. And if they did, what would she say? Before she could lose her courage she knocked three times and tried not to fidget.

It took so long that she thought she was too late, but after what seemed like an eternity the door opened and Branwen had to tilt her head back to meet Caleb's eyes. "Can I help you?" he asked, smiling politely as he tried to discreetly check her out.

"Is Pogue Parry here?" She knew he would be because Caleb and Pogue wouldn't drive all the way home separately.

Caleb let his gaze linger on her face for a moment before calling for Pogue. When Pogue appeared Caleb was still staring at Branwen. When Pogue saw her, he definitely looked surprised. He came to the door and when Caleb didn't move, Pogue cleared his throat.

Looking at him, Caleb nodded, smiled, and disappeared into the room. When he was gone, Pogue turned to her and looked over her appearance. "It's Argall, right?"

Branwen nodded. "But you can call me Branwen."

He smiled a little before he looked out in the hall and back to her. "What can I do for you, Branwen?"

You can call me babe again. Branwen tried not to roll her eyes at herself. But her thoughts had a point. She needed something to tell her if Pogue had, in fact, entered her dream. Whether it was a familiarity, a bodily reaction or what, she needed confirmation before she just freely gave information she had been forbidden to share with anyone, let alone a Son of Ipswich.

"Oh, Professor Lewis suggested I read your essay on the societal patterns and historical implications in the justice system and how it relates to the overall practice of criminal law. He said it would lend an enlightened insight to my thesis." So the professor had said she would enjoy reading it, that was close enough.

Pogue looked surprised. "Uh, sure. Do you need it now? I'm not sure where it is."

"I was hoping to read it over the holidays." Branwen replied, hoping for an invitation to wait inside instead of the busy hallway.

Pogue ran his fingers through his hair as he looked around his dorm. Sighing, he opened the door wider and stood back. "Come inside. I'll have to look around for it."

When the door closed, Caleb came out of his room; clearly about to say something to Pogue, but when he saw Branwen, he closed his mouth before going with, "Oh. Hi. I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Caleb Danvers." He held out his hand as he stepped forward.

"Branwen Argall." She replied as she shook his hand. He looked down at her gloves and frowned. "It's cold outside." She explained. Though why she had worn gloves had less to do with the weather and more to do with who she had come to see.

Pogue left them and went to look for his paper. "So, how did you meet Pogue?" Caleb asked.

Branwen didn't miss his grin or the thoughts it betrayed. She remembered Pogue's reputation as a ladies man. And she had the added knowledge of knowing Pogue had been pursuing her dancing and bartending alter-ego persistently. "A professor introduced us."

Caleb seemed surprised by that. "You're studying law?"

She looked up at him seriously. "Do I look incapable of doing so?"

"No," he said, not even bothering to sound apologetic. "I just figured that I would have seen you around before now."

Not likely, considering he shared similar hours and classes with Pogue, who she had been trying to avoid until now. "I'm not studying law."

Caleb narrowed his eyes and went to speak but then Pogue came back. "I found it." He tried to flatten the slightly bent pages over his leg before handing it to her. "Sorry, it got stuck under my hamper."

"And by hamper he means a pile of laundry." Caleb said. Pogue shot him a glare but Caleb just smiled. "Branwen was telling me a professor introduced the two of you. But apparently she isn't studying law."

Branwen didn't see the big deal here.

"Yeah, Philosophy, Professor Lewis said, right?" Pogue asked.

When Branwen nodded, albeit suspiciously, Pogue smiled. She didn't understand why Pogue and Professor Lewis were talking about her and she was even more confused by his smile.

"I hope that can help with your thesis." Pogue said, walking around Caleb and opening the door.

Branwen couldn't help but feel like she was being kicked out and she hadn't made any progress on why she had originally come there. "Uh yeah, thanks." Grasping on a connecting topic, Branwen smiled, trying to look a little tried and worn out. "I hope I don't have to start all over again."

Pogue frowned. "Why would you start it over? Professor Lewis implied you were getting ready to hand it in."

Again she was unsettled by his knowledge of her. She didn't allow it to affect her ruse. "Yeah, I was just going through and finishing the details. With any luck it's saved on my online database."

Pogue opened his mouth to speak but Caleb spoke first. "What happened to your computer?"

Branwen looked up at him, all innocence. "It got destroyed in the fire."

"Fire?" Caleb and Pogue said together.

Branwen nodded, sighing. "My house was burned to the ground a few days ago. My cousin and I were lucky enough to make it out before it took the whole thing to the ground."

She watched Pogue's face but there was no indication that he knew what she was talking about and she felt frustrated. If only she was able to come out and say it instead of beating around the bush with these bobble heads. They stood there staring at her with their mouths hanging open.

Caleb was the first to snap out of it. "Your house burned to the ground a few days ago and you're worried about your thesis? If I were you I'd go home for the holidays and spend time with my family."

Branwen had to forcibly stop herself from snorting. Instead she bowed her head regretfully. "My father is dead and my mother and I don't speak." This charade was getting off point. She wasn't getting anywhere. She should just accept that whatever had happened in her dream, the real Pogue clearly didn't know anything about it. "Well, I should be getting back to our temporary living quarters. I have an essay to read and a thesis to finish."

"Wait." Branwen turned to leave but Caleb put a hand on her shoulder and she looked down at it. His fingers were within an inch of skin. She didn't know if the tingling would happen with Caleb but she knew she didn't want to test it. She turned to face him but took a step back out of his reach. "So are you really just going to sit in some hotel room and do schoolwork for Thanksgiving?"

Branwen had to admit that it sounded pathetic but she didn't have much else to do. Until she got away from the coven she couldn't have a real life. "I have my cousin. We'll probably have a little dinner but that's it really."

Branwen looked and Pogue but he was looking at Caleb suspiciously. Branwen's unease grew.

"Well then you should come home with us." Caleb said, looking at Pogue.

Branwen couldn't hide the shock on her face. Neither could Pogue. "I barely know you." Branwen said.

"Well, it would be a great way to make friends. Isn't coming together what Thanksgiving is for?"

Branwen was so shocked she was having trouble coming up with excuses. She could feel the pressure in her head slowly building a headache. "I couldn't possibly intrude on your family for Thanksgiving. Aria and I will be fine here."

"I insist." Caleb said, and Pogue was now outright glaring at Caleb.

"No Thank you." Branwen said, trying not to think about all the things worse than a fire the coven would do if she spent thanksgiving with the Sons of Ipswich.

"I'm not taking no for an answer." Caleb said, his smile getting wider as he looked from Pogue to Branwen. "Pogue's driving his motorcycle home so you and your cousin can ride in the car with me. My mom will be so happy to have more people to host."

Two hours later Branwen sat in her car, completely overwhelmed, waiting for Caleb to pick them up. She'd had enough sense to suggest they meet up at a carpooling lot so Caleb didn't know they were staying above the club.

"I'm sorry about this mess." Branwen said to Aria, who was sitting beside her, looking out the window.

Aria looked over at her. "Branwen, in all honesty, I'm not upset. I mean I'm nervous about being around them because we've never been allowed to befriend other witches outside of cooperation events, and not letting them catch on to what we are is going to be hard, but I'm not worried about the coven right now. Any allegiance I had to them other than my parents, ended when they tried to burn us alive in our house."

Branwen wished it could be so black and white for her. Yes, she felt like the coven had given her no choice but to turn away from them, but she was still worried about the escalation. They had burned the condo to the ground, with the girls in it, for god only knew what. The coven would see time spent with the Sons as retaliation, or at least a childish rebellion. Branwen didn't know how to make it look like anything else.

"Is something else wrong?" Aria asked.

"Why would anything else be wrong?" Branwen asked, looking around the grounds again for any suspicious loiterers.

"You seem particularly on edge today."

Branwen sighed. "I don't think Pogue had anything to do with the warning in my dream."

There was a frown in Aria's tone but Branwen kept her eyes on the silver mustang making its way towards them. "So isn't that a good thing that he wasn't involved?"

"For his case, yes."

"What other case is there?"

"If he didn't become aware of the fire and project into my dream then someone else did and they chose the form of Pogue to do it." Branwen finally looked at Aria after assuring herself it was Caleb in the silver Mustang. "It means that someone, other than the coven, who is magical and has taken an interest in our lives is watching us. And they're watching us close enough to notice something I haven't completely come to terms with."

"What's that?" Aria asked as Caleb got out of his car and walked towards theirs.

Branwen sighed as she looked around and made sure everything was in order. Taking a deep breath she looked at her best friend. "That I seem to have reckless and inexplicable feelings of attachment to a boy I barely know and who was supposed to be my enemy." As Caleb knocked on the window, Branwen smiled at him and held up one finger before turning back to Aria. "I think I may have a less than innocent attraction to Pogue." She said, before opening the door and climbing out.

Before she closed her door she heard Aria mumble, "Yeah because no one saw that coming."


End file.
